Comments on: Lonely Last Suppershttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers/
Comments on MetaFilter post Lonely Last SuppersThu, 20 Jan 2011 10:08:58 -0800Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:08:58 -0800en-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss60Lonely Last Suppershttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers
<a href="http://www.good.is/post/last-suppers-james-reynolds-photographs-of-death-row-inmates-final-meals/page:1">The last meals of executed prisoners</a> - photographs of the final choices of death row inmates.post:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:05:47 -0800mdndeathrowdeathpenaltylastmealfooddeathexecutionprisonerinmateBy: sarastrohttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475089
I am really curious as to the reasoning behind whoever ordered the single black olive.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475089Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:08:58 -0800sarastroBy: crapmatichttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475091
<i>There were some foods, for example, the KFC ... that either looked very unappetizing, smelled bad, or were inedible. </i>
That pins the project date down as "after 1980".comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475091Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:09:04 -0800crapmaticBy: Burhanistanhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475095
Texas DCJ used to maintain an online, up to date list of last meal requests. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20031202214318/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm"> Here's the archive</a>.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475095Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:10:30 -0800BurhanistanBy: Debaser626http://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475096
<i>I am really curious as to the reasoning behind whoever ordered the single black olive.</i>
it's in the article...comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475096Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:10:45 -0800Debaser626By: jonmchttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475099
I'd like my pre-execution meal to be.....a buffet.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475099Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:12:55 -0800jonmcBy: Joe Beesehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475104
Have to say, I'm not feeling this.
I don't find it compelling as photography. And the small degree of humanization it confers upon the executed men* is insufficient to force any re-examination of one's beliefs about capital punishment.
<small>* The narrowness of their culinary horizons does suggest life privations that might have contributed to the end they met.</small>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475104Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:17:58 -0800Joe BeeseBy: gurplehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475109
The "onion and pack of gum" repast was a pretty great choice.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475109Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:19:26 -0800gurpleBy: Debaser626http://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475110
From Burhanistan's link:
209 Offender Information Barnes, Jr. Odell 998 03/01/2000 "Justice, Equality, World Peace"
I think it would be interesting to see a list filtered for "plead guilty" vs. "maintained innocence"comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475110Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:20:15 -0800Debaser626By: joe lisboahttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475113
<blockquote>G: Are there any particular meals that spoke to you?
JR: I tried to research why each prisoner chose what they did, but only discovered why the single olive was chosen. This olive was un-pitted, and the thinking behind it was that the inmate thought that after being executed and buried, an olive tree—a symbol of peace—would grow from him. It was indeed a very profound thought or idea, but an olive tree has not yet been found on his grave.</blockquote>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475113Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:21:07 -0800joe lisboaBy: kingbennyhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475117
That Texas DCJ list has some poignant items...
<em>"Eucharist - Sacrament."
"Justice, Equality, World Peace"
"None. Last minute he decided to eat a hamburger at his Mother's request."
"Asked that final meal be provided to a homeless person", etc</em>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475117Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:22:30 -0800kingbennyBy: Thorzdadhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475118
I've often wondered if any system would allow the prisoner to cook his own last meal? If I were in that position, I would want to bake and eat one last loaf of my bread.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475118Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:23:11 -0800ThorzdadBy: Floyddhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475119
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7m0akyC5U0">Now I heard the warden say, I had one more day.</a>
One last meal before they led me away.
And he said - if we ain't got it, We'll go out and get it.
You don't have to go 'til we come back with it.
So I said...
Give me two dinosaur eggs over easy.
Fried kooka-bird, not too greasy.
Mosquito knee , black-eyed bees.
An' a little bitty bowl of buttered bee-balm beans
A sabre-tooth tiger steak
A whole hippopotamus, well baked.
Two cross-eyed catfish
and some wavy gravy in the left hand dish
Now go, and get my dinner. Go,
and get my dinner.
You ain't got it?, go out an' get it.
I ain't goin', til you come back with it.
A captivating cup of crocodile dill.
A purple watermelon and an alligator pill.
A bottle of mellow mountain mist
An' a female banana I can't resist
Now go, and get my dinner. Go,
and get my dinner.
You ain't got it?, go out and get it.
I ain't goin', til you come back with it.
A heavy hunk of jelly and a fried rainbow
A rainwater cocktail and a breeze a la mode
A barbecued brick of chocolate ice cream
Bring me a plate of stewed moonbeam
Now go, and get my dinner
Go, and get my dinner
Hey Mr warden, gotta have my fill
I can't go without my last mealcomment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475119Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:23:33 -0800FloyddBy: leotrotskyhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475121
I'm feeling it. It's the last substantive decision that they'll ever make in their lives.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475121Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:25:07 -0800leotrotskyBy: ColdChefhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475124
My first ever comment on MetaFilter:
<em><a href="http://www.metafilter.com/7395/And-now-for-something-really-depressing">Here's my favorite one:</a>
Date of Execution: August 9, 2000
Offender: Roberson, Brian #886
Last Statement:
Since I have already said all I need to say to all my loved ones, I'm not going to say anything to y'all at this time. Y'all know I love you and y'all know where we're at. I will see y'all when you get there. So this is my statement. To all of the racist white folks in America that hate black folks and to all of the black folks in America that hate themselves: the infamous words of my famous legendary brother, Matt Turner, "Y'all kiss my black ass." Let's do it.
posted by ColdChef at 12:34 PM on <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/7395/And-now-for-something-really-depressing#76223">May 2, 2001</a></em>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475124Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:27:22 -0800ColdChefBy: castlebravohttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475130
The "single black olive" last meal originated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Feguer">Victor Ferguer</a>. As mentioned in the interview, the idea was that an olive tree might sprout from his grave (it didn't) as a sign of peace.
This was repeated as the last meal of <a href="http://deadmaneating.blogspot.com/2002_09_22_archive.html">Robert Buell</a>.
<a href="http://deadmaneating.blogspot.com/">Dead Man Eating</a> is an interesting if somewhat morbid blog about this subject.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475130Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:29:13 -0800castlebravoBy: StickyCarpethttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475131
Quite some time ago, I read through the Texas DCJ last meal requests that Burhanistan links to. I vaguely recall that there was one guy who asked for Spaghetios, and was given regular spaghetti instead, or some such. He was very disappointed. That struck me as very, very sad.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475131Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:29:53 -0800StickyCarpetBy: jonmchttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475135
<em>the infamous words of my famous legendary brother, Matt Turner</em>
<strong>Nat</strong> Turner, genius.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475135Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:32:31 -0800jonmcBy: knapahhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475142
<em>JR: This is a very difficult question<strong>. There is an argument for executing a person that has committed an appalling crime, but there is also one for keeping them in prison to suffer behind bars in a very poor quality of life.</strong> This is, however, a very expensive thing to do. I am still undecided on if the death penalty is right or wrong.</em>
Uh, what?
I found it interesting initially, then read this and felt repulsed by the photographer.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475142Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:35:50 -0800knapahBy: TedWhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475148
<em>That struck me as very, very sad.</em>
I had the same thought about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Ray_Rector#Last_meal_and_execution">Ricky Ray Rector's</a> last meal.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475148Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:38:48 -0800TedWBy: TedWhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475153
<em>I found it interesting initially, then read this and felt repulsed by the photographer.
</em>
I had much the same reaction; in much of the interview he comes across as kind of douche-y (I almost never use that word but can't come up with another that quite fits).comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475153Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:41:14 -0800TedWBy: mightygodkinghttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475159
<i>The narrowness of their culinary horizons does suggest life privations that might have contributed to the end they met.</i>
It doesn't matter how wide your culinary horizons get - if you know something is going to be your last meal, it's going to be comfort food. Period. I love sushi, and Thai curries, and kimchee, and falafel, and fajitas, and so many other different and varied foods - but if I was put on the spot and told I was gonna get one last meal before I died?
Roast chicken. With roasted potatoes and gravy, and cooked carrots like my mom makes. Fresh, hot gingerbread with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I would want what would bring me to happiness, not a reminder of all the great food experiences I wasn't going to get now.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475159Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:46:20 -0800mightygodkingBy: wreckingballhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475170
Yeah, the photographer comes across as a bit of an ignoramus. I mean, how can you be working in conceptual photography without managing to think about... really much of anything?
And then: "I work in an advertising agency as a creative. It allows me to convey messages to people, make them think, or form an opinion on something, which is what I love to do. I eventually hope to take many more photographs of the death row meals, maybe 100 or so, and make them into a coffee table book."
Good photographs, but what a yutz.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475170Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:50:08 -0800wreckingballBy: dogwalkerhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475182
I would be waaaay more interested in seeing pictures of the actual meals given to the inmates than artsy recreations by some ad exec that were made specifically to be photographed.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475182Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:54:43 -0800dogwalkerBy: rhhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475183
<em>There is an argument for executing a person that has committed an appalling crime, but there is also one for keeping them in prison to suffer behind bars in a very poor quality of life. This is, however, a very expensive thing to do.</em>
I was under the impression that - at least in the US system - the total cost to the state of a death sentence is vastly greater than life without parole. <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost/page.do?id=1101084">Amnesty claims this</a>, as too do many <a href="">other sources</a>.</em></em>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475183Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:55:37 -0800rhBy: rhhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475195
Oops, link fail: <em> ...as too do many <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=total+cost+of+death+penalty">other sources</a></em>.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475195Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:57:29 -0800rhBy: hal9khttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475199
<em>I'd like my pre-execution meal to be.....a buffet.</em>
Jimmy or Warren?comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475199Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:58:15 -0800hal9kBy: marvinhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475207
<em>"The death penalty was reinstated 34 years ago this week"</em> ...well in that great bastion of civilization called the USA anyway...
This, and the photography "concept" is vacuous and depressing.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475207Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:00:58 -0800marvinBy: sourwookiehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475210
I would carefully pick my meal specifically to maximize the mess made in my trousers after my post-mortem bowel evacuation. Ha! That'll show them!comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475210Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:03:05 -0800sourwookieBy: kuujjuarapikhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475219
That will show the poor orderly that has to clean up the body, you mean.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475219Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:06:43 -0800kuujjuarapikBy: kid ichoroushttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475220
<em>I eventually hope to take many more photographs of the death row meals, maybe 100 or so, and make them into a coffee table book.</em>
Wow. I think the final indignity of the coffee table book would make me shrug off the grave, book some sort of budget airfare of the damned, and lodge that olive just south of his adenoids.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475220Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:07:04 -0800kid ichorousBy: sourwookiehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475229
<em>That will show the poor orderly that has to clean up the body, you mean.</em>
Yeah, you're right. Can't win for losing.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475229Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:10:26 -0800sourwookieBy: Ad hominemhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475235
<em>It doesn't matter how wide your culinary horizons get - if you know something is going to be your last meal, it's going to be comfort food.</em>
I've often thought about what my request would be, and wondered what the limitations are. Seems like you can request KFC, but can you request Per Se or Masa? Can I request a 21 course tasting menu? How about 10 ouces of caviar. Obviously there are legal limitations, there is no way you can request roasted california condor.
Anyway this is my menu as it stands this minute, I'm going old school with this one. No trendy charcuterie or over the top items like Wagyu beef. All from The Palm:
1) Iceberg wedge with bacon and blue cheese dressing
2) Shrimp Bruno
3) Porterhouse medium rare
Sides: Steamed string beans with olive oil and garlic, Creamed spinach, hash browns.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475235Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:13:20 -0800Ad hominemBy: sourwookiehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475246
The snub of the Hagen-Daaz and KFC were pretty insulting.
These were a person's final request. To publicly act offended that you had to even handle the stuff on a project of your choosing (Ew-saturated fats! The chicken isn't free range! Ew--the ice cream isn't made of hormone-free raw milk! The philistines!*) is really dickish. Out of respect it would have been better for him to slide the food into the trash after he snapped his precious art project shot and not mentioned it to anybody.
<small>*yeah, yeah, I know I'm putting words in a straw man's mouth here, but really guy. </small>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475246Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:17:02 -0800sourwookieBy: rhhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475248
I'd stick with a classic: a loaf of bread, a bottle of red wine and 13 glasses.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475248Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:17:38 -0800rhBy: bearwifehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475257
Floydd's song lyrics remind me of the <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Hangtown_fry">apparently mythical story</a> behind the (always delicious) Hangtown Fry.
Burhanistan's link to the Texas DCJ archive of last meal requests depressed me because there are so many names listed.
And finally, imho this photographer is a jerk. One giveaway comment: <em>I must say I didn't really think about what these foods meant to certain people or what they represented in the photographs.</em> And in fact his depictions come across to me as disrespectful mockery.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475257Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:20:41 -0800bearwifeBy: Ad hominemhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475268
Seems like the guy is a vegan, he mentions eating the fruit. If you are a vegan for ethical reasons is it bad to buy KFC and just throw it away? Is it better just to eat it?comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475268Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:25:36 -0800Ad hominemBy: mdnhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475286
I found the images haunting, and the discussion with the photographer just sort of weird, maybe a bit depressing, because it seemed like there should have been more to say, that he should be been a real <i>artiste</i> who could have shed light on the meaning of all this, instead of just some guy with a camera, which was kind of how he came across <small>(I think he did a great job setting up the shots, but his comments were not insightful)</small>.
But on the other hand, maybe it's just as well that he couldn't make it beautiful... I think it was the bare, straightforward presentation of these that made them seem powerful to me.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475286Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:32:35 -0800mdnBy: SpacemanStixhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475298
That was very interesting. I've always wondered, if I were in that situation, if I would be so nervous that I wouldn't want to eat anything, or if I'd want to have one last eating experience. I think I'd end up just picking at my food.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475298Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:44:19 -0800SpacemanStixBy: lathrophttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475324
Me? A 6-pack sampler of high-gravity craft beerscomment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475324Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:54:49 -0800lathropBy: frymanhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475348
<em>I've often thought about what my request would be, and wondered what the limitations are.</em>
Many prisons have limitations that can be quite strict. Some last meals can only be prepared in-house by the prison kitchen. Many prisons limit availability to a certain mile radius outside the prison. So, say you want a hamburger, they'll pick you up whatever they can get within a 2 or 5 or whatever mile radius outside the prison. Most prisoners' last meals end up being shitty fast food because there aren't any quality restaurants near prisons.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475348Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:03:22 -0800frymanBy: fearfulsymmetryhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475353
<em>The narrowness of their culinary horizons does suggest life privations that might have contributed to the end they met.</em>
I remember some documentary about the death penalty where the warden was addressing concerns of the relatives of the victim and said that the choice of last meal, at that prison at least, could only be from what was normally served to the prisoners... so no massive banquet with caviare, fois gras etccomment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475353Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:04:46 -0800fearfulsymmetryBy: loquacioushttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475357
Three gallons of beer.
One half gallon of good scotch.
A carton of cigarettes.
Five medical grade joints.
Fifty eggs.
Two pumpkin pies.
A half gallon of french vanilla ice cream.
Three carne asada Mission burritos.
A two pound porterhouse steak, rare.
Peas with butter and garlic.
One large baked potato.
One large baked sweet potato.
You know what? You should just drop me off at the nearest Whole Foods and pick me up tomorrow.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475357Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:06:42 -0800loquaciousBy: PhoBWanKenobihttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475370
I enjoyed these photographs. they raised an instant lump in my throat.
I suspect I'd revert to my childhood: Chef Boyardee ABC pasta with mini meatballs (since their TMNT pasta has been discontinued), a glass of whole milk, a potato roll with butter, and a creamsicle for dessert.
When I'm about to die, I don't want food that's especially amazing. I want food that comforts me, that reminds me of simpler times.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475370Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:11:39 -0800PhoBWanKenobiBy: Baby_Balroghttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475372
lathrop, my understanding is that alcohol is prohibited.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475372Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:12:27 -0800Baby_BalrogBy: Baby_Balroghttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475375
If you could get smokes, I'd order a pack of Marlboro Reds and eat the damned thing, so's I'd die before they could kill me, just to spite the bastards.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475375Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:14:00 -0800Baby_BalrogBy: fixedgearhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475382
We saw a show on PBS a few years back (I want to say it was an episode of The Meaning of Food) where they interviewed a prisoner who cooked last meal(s). He had to work with whatever Sysco/US Foodservice crap they had, and he was doing something like removing the breading from a piece of fish to make a dish that was requested. It was pretty sad stuff.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475382Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:19:04 -0800fixedgearBy: Unicorn on the cobhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475383
Not sure if this is true for every prison, but as far as I know (from a parent who works there), last meals are limited to whatever is available in the kitchen's food supplies, the commissary, or nearby fast-food place if the person is exceptionally well-liked.
Ah, just confirmed this is true in Texas via the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_meal">"last meals" wiki</a>.
No wine for anyone, then, unless you've got some already stowed away carefully hidden or created in your own cell, apparently.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475383Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:21:57 -0800Unicorn on the cobBy: fakehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475394
<em>I'm feeling it. It's the last substantive decision that they'll ever make in their lives.</em>
And what a contrast to the rest of us, selecting cheeseburger over double cheeseburger in our not-ending-tomorrow-lives.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475394Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:31:34 -0800fakeBy: Marisa Stole the Precious Thinghttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475405
I think for my last meal, I'd probably go with a salad bowl filled with copper ball bearings. And a Dr. Pepper.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475405Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:37:52 -0800Marisa Stole the Precious ThingBy: Copronymushttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475406
<a href="http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/usexecute.htm">Here's</a> a collection of all executions across the whole country since 1977 that includes the last meal.
Thanks to that, I've learned that there must be a Pizza Hut right by the Oklahoma state pen.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475406Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:38:03 -0800CopronymusBy: Unicorn on the cobhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475411
And in regards to the photographer's off-hand remark about life in prison being expensive, it's still cheaper than execution. Then again, he's not calling himself a journalist... though a basic Google search would've educated him.
According to <a href="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf">this fact sheet</a>, the cost per execution is quite a bit higher than life without parole in a supermax lockdown. Of the 50 US states, 35 have the death penalty. Of course, these are hardly up-to-the minute cost breakdowns, but still.
For those who hate PDFs:
• The California death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the costs of keeping convicts locked up for life. Taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each of the state's executions. (L.A. Times, March 6, 2005)
• In Kansas, the costs of capital cases are 70% more expensive than comparable non-capital cases, including the costs of incarceration. (Kansas Performance Audit Report, December 2003).
• In Maryland, an average death penalty case resulting in a death sentence costs approximately $3 million. The eventual costs to Maryland taxpayers for cases pursued 1978-1999 will be $186 million. Five executions have resulted. (Urban Institute 2008).
• The most comprehensive study in the country found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million per execution over the costs of sentencing murderers to life imprisonment. The majority of those costs occur at the trial level. (Duke University, May 1993).
• Enforcing the death penalty costs Florida $51 million a year above what it would cost to punish all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole. Based on the 44 executions Florida had carried out since 1976, that amounts to a cost of $24 million for each
execution. (Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2000).
• In Texas, a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. (Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992).comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475411Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:41:52 -0800Unicorn on the cobBy: ethnomethodologisthttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475414
SPY had a story years ago listing some final requests and also whether the decedent actually ate the last meal. In many cases- no. I can't find it online but it's buried somewhere in my basement (the issue of SPY, I mean).comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475414Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:44:26 -0800ethnomethodologistBy: Burhanistanhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475417
I would dare say that when those who put forth arguments about the death penalty being cheaper than lifetime incarceration are proven wrong, they don't really care and would rather the process be made simpler so executions could be cheaper than life sentences.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475417Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:45:33 -0800BurhanistanBy: longtime_lurkerhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475430
Tangentially, the <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/7395/And-now-for-something-really-depressing">thread coldchef links</a> is fascinating to me. In it, one member puts forth the opinion that as long as they "deserve to die," it's okay to execute people who are innocent of the crime for which they were convicted. One, and only one, other member takes exception to this, and the two of them begin to argue.
<i>Eight comments later, the thread ends.</i> I cannot imagine such a circumstance in today's mefi.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475430Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:53:55 -0800longtime_lurkerBy: ColdChefhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475497
<a href="http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/daviswilliamlast.htm">Oh, I would like to say in closing, "What about those cowboys?"</a>comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475497Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:51:37 -0800ColdChefBy: spec80http://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475499
<em>Three gallons of beer.
One half gallon of good scotch.
A carton of cigarettes.
Five medical grade joints.
Fifty eggs.
Two pumpkin pies.
A half gallon of french vanilla ice cream.
Three carne asada Mission burritos.
A two pound porterhouse steak, rare.
Peas with butter and garlic.
One large baked potato.
One large baked sweet potato.</em>
For some reason, this really reminds me of the breakfasts Hunter S. Thompson wrote about eating.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475499Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:52:34 -0800spec80By: ymgvehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475598
I wonder how they handle smart-asses that demand something really expensive and/or hard to get. I want my final meal to be a <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/3403475-418/story.html">Mammoth steak</a>, so they better postpone the execution till one becomes available.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475598Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:38:08 -0800ymgveBy: notmydeskhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475717
I think I'd ask for a shitton of unpopped popcorn, so maybe when they fried me it would all pop and shoot out of my stomach all over the place. And they'd know I was good and cooked when the popping had slowed to between 1-2 pops per second.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475717Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:37:51 -0800notmydeskBy: neuromodulatorhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475728
Can you choose alcohol? I'd like a guinness with my last meal.
If they could do literally anything, I'd want a mushroom burger from Whitespot, fries and a chocolate shake. But only if it was exactly a Whitespot burger. They're not exceptional, but every once in a while, when my dad wasn't going to be home for dinner, my mom would pick us up two combos on her way home from work, and they taste like me and mom eating guilty pleasures together, co-conspirators eating meals I don't think my dad knew about. Not that he would have cared, but it was something wonderfully, exclusively me-and-my-mom.
If they couldn't get a Whitespot burger, then...
Maybe breakfast? Potatoes, a cheese and mushroom omelet with hot sauce, some bacon, toasted sourdough, orange juice and earl grey. And guinness.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475728Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:42:04 -0800neuromodulatorBy: Unicorn on the cobhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475732
I'm pretty sure Empath's 50 eggs is a <em>Cool Hand Luke</em> reference, but Paul Newman couldn't finish that list off.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475732Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:44:24 -0800Unicorn on the cobBy: neuromodulatorhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475735
Jesus, ColdChef, I'm not sure I'm glad you made me aware of that website.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475735Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:45:59 -0800neuromodulatorBy: Halloween Jackhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475768
<em>I think I'd ask for a shitton of unpopped popcorn, so maybe when they fried me it would all pop and shoot out of my stomach all over the place. And they'd know I was good and cooked when the popping had slowed to between 1-2 pops per second.</em>
So... the <em>Real Genius</em> ending for you, then?
As for me... I'm not sure that I could eat a last meal. I totally get that some people want their last meal to be comfort food, but if I killed someone, and ordered some of my favorite foods, I don't think that I'd be able to eat because I'd be thinking of the family that had cooked those foods for me back in the day, and what they must think of me now, and lose my appetite to shame. If I wasn't guilty, I wouldn't want to give the system the satisfaction of trying to make things easier for me, but I might accept something bitter--a grapefruit, maybe.
And if I had killed someone and felt no guilt over it, I'd want them to amputate my left arm up to the elbow and slow-cook it, no spices, just so that I could see what long pork tasted like--hell, I wouldn't be needing it anymore. Assuming that they wouldn't allow that, or that my crime had involved cannibalism, I think I'd go with fried chicken. Fried chicken's always good.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475768Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:07:09 -0800Halloween JackBy: hot soup girlhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475785
Previous MeFi posts on last suppers: <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/1886/Final-meal-requests">1</a>, <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/27426/Dead-Man-Eating">2</a>, <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/37740/Last-Meals">3</a>.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475785Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:21:40 -0800hot soup girlBy: tazhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475797
<blockquote><em><strong>I wanted to get the viewer to think, or have an opinion</strong>. I'd like to think that the photographs <strong>make them think</strong>, what thought that is, I am not sure, as I myself had more thoughts the more I looked at them.</em>
. . .
<strong><em>I must say I didn't really think about what these foods meant to certain people or what they represented in the photographs.</em></strong> <small>[!]</small>
. . .
<em>I work in an advertising agency as a creative. <strong>It allows me to convey messages to people, make them think, or form an opinion on something</strong></em></blockquote>
I think he pretty much sucks. That's my opinion. So, I guess he's succeeded.
I hate to be hateful, but I'm gagging. ***I'm a 'creative,' and I wanna make a coffee table book about the last meals of executed people, some of whom committed horrific crimes, some of whom were possibly innocent of those crimes, but all or most of whom probably existed in various states desperate and abject misery and desolation for acts both inflicted and received (none of which I'm likely to ever experience myself).***
No. Somebody else might very well be able to produce such a thing without me sort of hating them, but they wouldn't be calling themselves a "creative" and they wouldn't be calling it a "coffee table book." And they probably <em>would</em> have really thought about "what these foods meant to certain people," and "what they represented in the photographs," but even if they didn't ponder that much, even if it was just earnest gawky goggling and rubbernecking, it would be better than this effete "make people think" canned posturing crap. Blech. Doubleblech.
Of course, if I later find out that he's donating all proceeds to Amnesty International or something, I'll be glad to come back and eat my hat, or any other last meal voted appropriate by my fellows. <small>(That's you goofy people, btw)</small>.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475797Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:29:46 -0800tazBy: sonikahttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475808
The last meal always depresses me beyond measure. Dunno why, but the lists and the photos of the last thing an inmate will eat feel so...intimate... and, well, awful. Not because of what they choose, but how calculated the whole thing is. (The death penalty that is, not dinner. Though dinner might also be calculated.)
At this point, I would be all over a stack of pancakes, but that might just be the fact that I can't eat sugar (including sweet, sweet maple syrup) for the next seven weeks talking. In general, a good cheeseburger and some fries washed down with sweet tea and followed by a bowl of Rainier cherries would be excellent.
(Yep, this means that there are many summer days when I could just die happy after a cook-out.)comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475808Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:37:01 -0800sonikaBy: bwghttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475809
<a href="http://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475199">hal9k</a>: "<i><em>I'd like my pre-execution meal to be.....a buffet.</em>
Jimmy or Warren</i>"
Jeffrey Dahmer, is that you?comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475809Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:38:02 -0800bwgBy: Samizdatahttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475816
Me?
Well, as I am a diverticulosis sufferer, a bunch of pistachios, some mixed nuts, some popcorn, and a giant bag of Cracker Jack for dessert...comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475816Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:43:18 -0800SamizdataBy: fixedgearhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475868
I'll find the link, but with respect to what sonika said: my wife was crying while we were watching the show I was talking about above. Food is really important to her, and not only the last meal (their sort of blue collar pedestrian choices) plus the care that this prison chef guy was taking in making their Last Meal On Earth was really affecting. For me too.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475868Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:12:29 -0800fixedgearBy: dixiecupdrinkinghttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3475985
<em>No. Somebody else might very well be able to produce such a thing without me sort of hating them, but they wouldn't be calling themselves a "creative" and they wouldn't be calling it a "coffee table book."</em>
Look, he called himself a "creative" not a "smart," cut him some slack already.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3475985Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:50:23 -0800dixiecupdrinkingBy: jeremy bhttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3476053
Everything looks so yummy!comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3476053Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:03:26 -0800jeremy bBy: mreleganzahttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3476154
I'll take about 3 pounds (post-cooked weight) of crispy bacon.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3476154Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:54:07 -0800mreleganzaBy: Ritchiehttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3476220
Cottage pie.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3476220Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:31:14 -0800RitchieBy: Decanihttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3476227
I don't think I'd be hungry.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3476227Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:45:35 -0800DecaniBy: SylviaAspevighttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3476550
Strangely heartbreaking.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3476550Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:58:41 -0800SylviaAspevigBy: shesaysgohttp://www.metafilter.com/99717/Lonely-Last-Suppers#3476931
<em>Here's a collection of all executions across the whole country since 1977 that includes the last meal.</em>
Wow. The last execution by firing squad was last year. That just seems so archaic.comment:www.metafilter.com,2011:site.99717-3476931Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:04:28 -0800shesaysgo